There's Laughter in the Walls....

As Dave and I drove to church on Sunday morning we reflected on the incredible blessing of this Christmas spent with all of our 'families' home. The house is silent now, the bed linens are washed and back on the beds, the toys are all in their places, and the living room is uncluttered by blankets, car seats, books, or toys for every age of grandchild. But there is laughter in the walls.....so, so much laughter in the walls!

 

 

 

 

Thank you Lord for all the laughter in our walls!

My Favorite Things

Several times while everyone was home the song, My Favorite Things, went through my head. As I hummed it, I couldn't help but think that there were some favorite things that I would remember from this very special Christmas......

....baby cousins still in their sleepers enjoying some floor time by the light of the Christmas tree early in the mornings, before the rest of the house was up.

.....Caily helping her Bupa vacuum up the floors(with that many little ones around there was also something that needed to be picked up)

.....watching the faraway Uncle and Auntie getting to know their nephews.                                                      

....seeing a very determined Auntie win over Lexi long before the rest of us were able to hold her without her crying for her Mommy(they were dancing together when this picture was taken.)

.....seeing Lexi learn how to crawl on Christmas Eve.

......going for walks with whoever was around and enjoying the beautiful, crisp, clear days of winter.

.....being there when my mother, who has spent the last half of the year in hospital, got a 4-day pass so they could fly out on Christmas Eve and meet their new great-grandchildren.

....seeing the incredible love between a grandfather and his special 'Sweetpea'. This hug was just one of many that they shared over the 12 days she was here.

  .....watching my father read a book to two of his great-grandchildren. They were captivated by the story and kept bringing him more books!(we had to delay their dinner so they could finish the book on Christmas Eve!)

.....hearing the sounds of little fingers on my piano, the one that I learned to play on almost 50 years ago, and then to come into the room and see Aidan and Caily sitting on the bench and Jaxon standing on tiptoes to play along!

......having all of our children and grandchildren at the dinner table at one time instead of just one family at a time. It was total chaos but so much fun!

......walking into the room and seeing that my mom was actually holding her youngest great-grandson. We weren't sure that this day would come.

......being captivated by a little man and his incredible smiles that will make my heart sing on some gloomy days.

.....taking time in the midst of all the busy-ness to rock a baby to sleep and then to just sit and enjoy watching him sleep. It just doesn't get any better than that!

.....celebrating the gift of life with our daughters, two sisters who live thousands of miles apart but who this Christmas got to hold each other's babies and just hang out together.

.....going shopping with all three of my girls! What fun we had together when Megs, Heather, Jody, Lexi, Kai and I went shopping for their Christmas gifts! We got asked several times if they were twins and it was just sooooo much fun to watch everyone pick out their own gifts(clothes they wanted and liked).

.....having my arms full and loving every minute of it!

These are a few of my favorite things.....

The Wonder of Snow!

One of the special things that the kids planned for our time together in honor of Dave's 60th Birthday was a surprise trip up to the top of Grouse Mountain with a Birthday meal to follow. Although it was a beautiful sunny day when we left home, by the time we took the Gondola up the mountain, we were in a winter wonderland and it was really snowing!

Caily was in awe of the snow......she  couldn't get enough of it!

Since Jamie was the uncle with snow pants on, he was the one that took turns sliding down the hill with the little ones....

Both Aidan and Caily just loved playing in the snow, sitting in it, lying down in it, and even trying to make snow balls while we adults waited in line to take a sleigh ride.

The little ones were in their carriers so they were protected from the snow and the wind. Jaxon missed his nap so he was a bit tired, but more than willing to be held.

 

Finally it was our turn to climb up into the sleigh.

 

 All settled in for the ride....

 

 We're off....jump up Mimi!!

 

What awesome memories we made......they make me smile remembering them!

Merry Christmas from our House to Yours

I know that for many of you it feels like Christmas is over, but at our house, it is still very much here. Since I finally have a quiet moment to think about blogging, I thought I would just post these pictures of our 'families' that made this without a doubt, our best Christmas ever! I think you will see what I mean!

Looking at this next picture brings tears to my eyes.....we are so very blessed!

All Together in One Place

As you can well imagine there isn't much time for blogging these days because at the end of the day I am exhausted! But still smiling...it's just such a blessing to have our entire family altogether in one place!! So here are just a few glimpses into our house...

Everyone enjoys having some quiet time for reading!

Now that Heather and Matt are here too, we finally have the two babies together in one place! My lap!!!

Playing Hide and Seek with Uncle Darin....Jaxon found the perfect spot first and then of course Caily and Aidan had to join in the fun!

Caily couldn't believe that Kai was getting his bath in the kitchen sink! As you can tell, he loves it!

Darin meets Kai for the first time......I just love this picture! Makes me tear up every time I look at it! Yes, we are finally all together in one place....and what a blessed, noisy place it is!